The prominence of digital sales has grown in the Thoroughbred industry in recent years, and Regaled is the most recent success story following her placing on the World Championships stage in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1).
The digital sales have given owners an opportunity to take advantage of recent success from their runners or broodmares and offer them to the market without having to wait, potentially months, for the next breeding stock or horses of racing age sale. Most sales companies have now adopted some form of a digital model, giving connections monthly options.
Regaled's trainer, Whit Beckman, said that digital sales have helped to make buying horses more accessible.
"It's tougher because you don't get to look at them physically, you don't get to do the inspection process," Beckman said. "But when you know a pedigree, when you know a horse, when you know a specific kind of thing that you're on to as a buyer, (digital sales) make it a lot easier because you open up hundreds more options."
That specific thing Beckman and Legion Bloodstock were looking for, on behalf of Ribble Farms and Front Page Equestrian, was the 4-year-old Mohaymen filly's dam: Ascot Walk. Beckman trained Regaled's half sister, Drexel Hill, to finish second for Legion Racing in the May 2 Kentucky Oaks (G1). Regaled continued a strong month for the family when finishing third behind grade 1 winner Candied two weeks later in the Allaire DuPont Distaff at Pimlico Race Course—her second consecutive stakes placing. Regaled was also grade 3 placed as a 3-year-old.
Taking advantage of those updates, owner Samuel Davis entered her in the Inglis Digital Sale that month where Legion purchased her for $300,000 from the Paramount Sales consignment.
"We felt she had more to offer and the gamble turned out to be the right one," Beckman said.
Since then, she finished second in the Groupie Doll Stakes at Ellis Park, third in the Locust Grove Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, and won the Delaware Handicap (G3) at Delaware Park before her third in Saturday's Distaff.
"Seeing horses like (Regaled) will probably help recruit bigger and better horses to go in (digital sales)," Beckman, said. "You probably do lose a little bit of the punch (compared to) a public auction. Still, if you can get these types of horses out of it, it's going to have a lot more people shopping there."
Her late turn of foot propelled her from eleventh in the early stages of the Distaff to finish third, beaten 5 1/2 lengths by Scylla and only a half-length behind Nitrogen for second. Given that all the day's Breeders' Cup winners on the Del Mar dirt course were close to the pace early, Beckman said he was thrilled with the performance.
"Looking at the trends of the weekend, the performance she put in—closing that much ground on that track that no other horse I saw all weekend was able to do—was just a testament to how much she's come around since we got her," Beckman said. "I'm just thrilled. To get a horse like that out of a sale that can go either way, for her to rise to every occasion and just step up so emphatically every time, I'm just pumped to be in this spot and be called her trainer."
Regaled bounced out of the race in great shape, and should she continue to show that trend upon her return to Churchill Downs, she will be targeted at the $400,000 Falls City Stakes (G3) Nov. 27 before likely taking some time off ahead the spring's main distaff division targets. Beckman expects Regaled to only keep improving with the goal of returning to the Breeders' Cup, which will be held at Keeneland in 2026.
Meanwhile, her Bolt d'Oro half sister, Drexel Hill, is back in the entry box for Beckman after getting a bone chip removed in the days following the Oaks. Beckman submitted an entry to the $300,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct Racetrack Nov. 8 and will determine if she will for sure be sent to New York once he returns to Kentucky and evaluates her.
Their dam, Ascot Walk, was also recently sold via the digital sale platform, bringing $550,000 while in foal to 2023 Horse of the Year Cody's Wish from Erdenheim Farm Thoroughbreds in Fasig-Tipton's August digital sale. Her third foal, Grazie, a 2-year-old New York-bred daughter of Modernist trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable, won her debut at Saratoga Race Course in July and has since placed in three New York-bred stakes.
"That mare, she's going to have a big next year between Drexel Hill and Regaled," Beckman said. "The mare's been bred to Modernist, Mohaymen, Bolt d'Oro, and she's got a first-out winner (Grazie) and two grade 1-placed fillies. I think the mare is exceptional."
